


There's a New Hero In Town and It's Not Me

by sakurastar0660



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: Advanced Technology, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, M/M, Past Relationship(s), Sexual Content, past trauma
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-30
Updated: 2016-10-16
Packaged: 2018-04-24 04:42:58
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 13,813
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4905904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sakurastar0660/pseuds/sakurastar0660
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>X-Ray and Vav are superheroes that keep Achievement City safe, saving the city from the Corpirate and insipring others to rise up and be a force for justice. Of course the really sucessful heroes are those that have actual powers, like X-Ray with his x-ray vision and optic beam vision, Vav with his slow motion abilities, Mogar with his ability to transform into any animal and you who has control over the different elements. You team up with X-Ray and Vav again when a new villain, The Ringmaster, shows up with a plan for world domination. As you and the lad's continue searching for a way to stop The Ringmaster you are forced to make an unlikely alliance with the most unlikeliest of allies.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own the idea of automail or the name "Fullmetal"; those belong to the writers of "Fullmetal Alchemist".  
> I use "hero" and "vigilante" interchangeably so they mean the same thing. Sorry if that may confuse some of you. If it really annoys or confuses you please let me know and I'll try to have them mean separate things.  
> Please feel free to leave a comment with your thoughts, questions or suggestions. Thanks and enjoy.

Achievement City is a prosperous city thanks to its two superhero vigilantes lowering the crime rate and making the city a safer place. The two heroes have become well known and somewhat famous after they stopped the Corpirate from taking over the city and putting the Mad King behind bars. A few other vigilantes have popped up every once in awhile but they don’t stay for very long. One hero that has an increasing popularity and has stuck around is Mogar, a man who grew up and lives in the forest outside the city. When Mogar first showed up in Achievement City, X-Ray and Vav were apprehensive about having a vigilante who was raised by wolves and bears-not to mention they were a little jealous that the citizens quickly took to the new hero- but they too came around to having another very capable hero. Within months, the hero duo became a trio and they adopted the name “Team Lads” thanks to Vav.

But you are different. You never stayed in one place for too long and you tried not to get involved with other heroes because it usually just causes problems and it is awkward if you ever has to go back to the city in which that hero resides. That’s why you’ve tried to do everything you could to avoid going back to Achievement City but with an imminent threat to the city and the whole world you find you have no other choice.

Which is why you find yourself walking down a street in Achievement City, a hood pulled up over your head and your boot click against the concrete of the sidewalk. The street lights illuminate the sidewalk and the road, the cool night air surrounds you, making you shiver and you shove your hands into your hoodie pockets, wrapping the fabric tighter around you. As amazing and skilled an inventor and technician Hilda is, you still can’t understand why she made your prosthetics out of metal. “Automail is a growing industry,” she told you and you feel like she just made that up as an excuse but whatever. The metal is some of the strongest you’ve seen: it’s maraging steel, composed of different amounts of nickel, cobalt, and molybdenum. Your automail hasn’t broken yet but you have put it through and under a lot of stress and could do with a tune-up. You turn down another street, walking down one of the poorer parts of the city-even though the crime rate is down doesn't mean that crime is completely gone. As you pass by one of the houses, a group of guys make their way off the porch and begin following you. ‘Great’ you think. You stop half way down the street. “Can I help you with something?”

“It’s dangerous for a woman to be wandering the streets at night alone.” one of them says with a hispanic accent.

“I can take care of myself.” you tell them, watching as they slowly circle you.

“La chica thinks she can handle herself.” they all chuckle. “I think chica doesn’t know whose territory she’s wandered into.” they move in closer to you.

You clench your fists inside your hoodie pockets. “I think you better back the fuck off before la chicha kicks tu maldito culo (your bastard ass).”

“What did you say?” the guy gets up in your face and you can smell the alcohol and weed on his breath.

You open your mouth to respond but a deep voice cuts you off. “Remove yourself from the woman’s presence filth.” you glance over your shoulder to see Mogar standing there with X-Ray and Vav following suit.

“Of course they’d show up.” you mutter to yourself, punching the guy in front of you square in the face with your right metal hand while they all stared at the other heroes. The guy goes flying and you whip around, using your abilities to pull some water out of the air and knock two of the other guys away. The fourth guy turns his attention back to you, pulling out a gun and shoots you in the right shoulder. You slightly hiss, moving to knock him out but Mogar is quicker, knocking him out with a single punch to the face.

Mogar turns to look at you as you hold your shoulder. “You are injured.”

“Nah. I’m fine.” you turn to see X-Ray and Vav make their way over to you.

“Fullmetal is that you?” Vav asks.

You let out a sigh- there’s no point in lying now. “Yeah it’s me.” you slip the hood off your head, running a hand through your hair.

X-Ray and Vav stare at you, mostly your now blue hair. “I don’t...What are you doing here?” Vav asks, his voice slightly cracking.

“That’ll have to wait until we’re somewhere more private. For now I need to go see Hilda.”

“Oh, alright. We can give you a lift if you want.” Vav suggests.

You think about declining the offer but Hilda’s lab was a good distance away. “Fine,” you follow the men over to where they parked their bikes, Mogar climbing on the back of Vav’s bike and you reluctantly climb onto the back of X-Ray’s bike.

“I do not understand; the woman is hurt, she needs a doctor, not a lab geek.” Mogar tells Vav.

“I promise you that Fullmetal is fine Mogar.” Vav responds as they take off towards Hilda’s lab in Monarch Labs.

You and X-Ray ride there in silence, neither of you knowing exactly what to say or how to go about addressing the situation at hand. Thankfully it doesn’t take long to get to the lab and the four of you make your way up to Hilda’s lab. Orf meets you outside the lab, showing you all in before flying over to where Hilda is leaning over a bench.

“Hilda, you have guests.” Orf says in her high pitched voice.

The purple haired scientists looks up from her work. “Who would be visiting at this hour?” she turns around. “Oh, it’s you guys.” she groans as she eyes X-Ray and Vav before noticing you. “Well, isn’t this a surprise. I’m guessing that this isn’t a social call so you know the drill.” Hilda moves away from the bench and grabs a tool box.

“Yeah, yeah.” you move over to the couch that was pushed up against a wall, pulling off your hoodie and t-shirt, leaving your tank top on and tosses the articles of clothing onto the couch before unbuckling your pants. You strip down to your spankies, plopping down on the couch and notices the other heroes starring at you. “What?” you look at them. “You never seen a girl undress before?”

“I have, though I’m not sure if I can say the same for these two.” X-Ray says, pointing to Vav and Mogar.

“X-Ray,” Vav looks at his friend.

Mogar’s eyes narrow on your automail arm and leg. “Why do you have metal limbs?”

“Mogar,” Vav looks at his other friend. “That’s a rude thing to ask.

“It’s fine Vav,” you prop your left leg up onto the table as Hilda sits down in front of you, the tool box by her side and begins looking your prosthetics over. You stare at the area where the metal meets your skin just above your knee, the skin there being slightly discoloured. “I have metal prosthetics because I lost my real limbs in an explosion.”

“You are strong, why didn’t you prevent the explosion?”

You look up at Mogar. “Sure I’m strong now, but I wasn’t when I was thirteen when the house exploded and I was trapped under debris that severely maimed my arm past the point of repair while the explosion blew half my leg off.”

Mogar hums as Hilda examines your arm. “You really did a number on it this time.” she says.

“Yeah well criminals don’t exactly go easy on us vigilantes.” you and X-Ray say at the same time, making you both slightly blush.

Vav smiles at you two. “You two are adorable.”

“Shut the hell up.” X-Ray crosses his arms over his chest.

“The good news is that I can repair everything without having to detach it.” Hilda tells you, making you look at the scientist.

“That’s good.” you watch as she start taking plates of metal off and replacing them. Hilda finishes within the hour and you move your arm around, it feeling lighter. “Did you put a different metal on?”

Hilda packs up her tool box. “No it’s just a little thinner but it’ll still hold up under pressure as long as you don’t do anything crazy.”

You nod. "I'll keep that in mind." You stand, pulling your pants back on. You pluck your shirt off the couch, slipping it on.

"So can you tell us what you're doing back here?" Vav asks.

You pick up your hoodie, stepping into your boots and you make your way over to the lads. "Sure, but you might not be happy about it."

"You sure about that?" X-Ray looks at you, raising a brow.

"Considering it involves a new supervillain who wants to take over the world, probably not."

X-Ray groans while Vav and Mogar share a look. “Are you serious?” Vav asks.

You cross your arms over your chest. “Why would I lie about something like this?”

“Well,” Vav scratches the back of his head. “You did show up out of the blue with no warning and we haven’t heard anything.”

“You wouldn’t. I only about him because I accidentally stumbled onto his lab.”

“Right. And who is this guy exactly?” X-Ray asks.

“His name is Ivoc Bach but he seems to be going by the name The Ringmaster.”

X-Ray laughs. “The Ringmaster? What a dumb name.”

Vav frowns at his partner. “So this Ringmaster plans on taking over the world. How is he going to do that?”

“From what I saw he seems to be doing something similar to the Corpirate- taking control over people and use them to accomplish his goal.” you pull your hoodie on.

“But we destroyed all the Corpirate’s machines. Right Miss Hilda?” Vav looks over at the scientist, who has returned to the work bench.

“Yup. Tore it apart and had them incinerated.” Hilda says

Vav nods, looking back at you. “See? So there’s nothing much to worry about.”

You slightly glare at the hero. “Are you seriously going to ignore this?”

“No. It’s just we don’t have much to go off of and how do you even know he’s here in Achievement City?”

“I followed him here.”

“And that’s all you have. We can’t just-”

“Vav,” x-Ray put a hand on the Brit’s shoulder. “I think we should look into this more.”

“Wot?” the Brit squeaks.

“Just because we don’t have solid evidence doesn’t mean we still can’t investigate. We’ve gone off a lot less than someone seeing a person plan something evil.”

Vav looks at X-Ray before looking at Mogar. “What do you think?”

“A threat is a threat and we must eliminate them.” the bear man says.

Vav sighs, clearly outnumbered. “Fine but we’re not going to act until her have more evidence.”

“Fine by me. I’ll be at my hideout if you find anything.” you leave the lab and disappear into the night.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please feel free to leave a comment with your thought, questions or suggestions. Thanks and enjoy.

You like the fact that Achievement City is a port city with beaches, having set up a base in a cluster of palm trees. You find the sound of the ocean calming and you loved to feel the cool breeze from it at night. You spend the next couple of days gathering more evidence, spending sometime at X-Ray and Vav’s place before heading out to chase down possible leads.

By the second week you all are a bit tired, having to chase leads while also patrolling and defending the city. You and X-Ray sit on the couch in their apartment, Vav and Mogar having left a while ago in response to a call someone made about a local gang causing trouble. You stare at your laptop screen, your eyes slightly drooping and you can feel the exhaustion in your bones. You shut the laptop, setting it on the table before standing up. Stretching, you make your way into the kitchen, grabbing a drink and taking a sip as you lean up against the counter.

X-Ray glances over at you. “So are we going to talk about what happened last time you were here?”

You sigh, hoping that you could avoid addressing the topic but you knew that it was inevitable that it’d be brought up. “What’s there to talk about?”

X-Ray sets the file he was reading down on the coffee table. “There is plenty to talk about, especially considering that you just left with no warning and Vav and I thought that maybe the Corpirate got to you but after defeating him we realized that you just left.” he turns to face you. “Why couldn’t you leave a note or anything?”

“I’m sorry,” you set your drink down. “It’s just that I couldn’t stay.”

“Why not?” We had a good thing going.”

“Exactly,” you look at him. “We were getting too involved and that’s dangerous.”

“How’s that dangerous?”

“It’s because feelings get involved and that can impact the decision we have to make out in the field. Would you have made the same decisions and keep a level head is I had been captured by Corpirate?”

“Of course.”

You give him a look. “I highly doubt that.”

“What? You don’t think that I could make important decisions with the same ability to rationalize the risks and gains of the situation at hand and make the right, rational decision?” X-Ray stands up, crossing his arms over his chest.

“I know that you wouldn’t be able to completely put aside your feelings and not let them impact your decision.”

“You don’t know if I would be able to!” he throws his hands up in the air.

“I know you X-Ray; you can’t make any decision without having your feelings involved in some way!”

“And you can’t make a single decision in which you take your feelings into consideration!” X-Ray counters.

You two glare at each other, continuing even when the apartment door opens and Vav and Mogar walk in. “Hey we’re back.” Vav calls. “We even brought lunch.” he walks into the living room kitchen area, holding a box full of Chinese takeout and looks between the two of you. “Is everything ok?”

“Just peachy.” X-Ray turns around, plopping back down onto the couch.

You grab your drink, talking up a seat in the bean bag next to the tv, picking up your laptop and continues with your search.

“Okay…” Vav sets the box down on the table. “So, any luck on finding some more leads?”

“Not really.” X-Ray picks up one of the containers and begins eating straight out of the box.

Vav looks at him. “Have you even looked at the files?”

X-Ray frowns. “Of course. I just didn’t find any leads is all.”

“This hunt is growing tiring.” Mogar says, also taking a container and eating from the small box.

“I never said that this would be a cakewalk.” you tell them, glancing up at them. “Sometimes we have to take things slow and make sure that we have sufficient evidence that the person we are pursuing is doing things with malicious intent and that we’re not just putting some innocent person behind bars because of a hunch we had.” you take the plate of food Vav hands you. “That is one of the slightly crappier things about being a hero- we still have to follow the law and we can only bend it so far.”

“You have too many rules.”

“Then take it up with the government.” you huff, shoveling a forkful of rice into your mouth.

Mogar huffs as well and you all fall into silence, eating as you all look through the files and reports. You spend the next couple of hours scouring the internet, following a lead the other’s might have considered irrelevant but you got this weird feeling about it and you went with your instincts, following it wherever it lead you. As you delve deeper, you start to think that maybe you made a mistake and it was irrelevant after all but as you go to close the tab something at the bottom of the page catches your eye. A name actually. You scroll down the page, reading the article and your eyes widen at the discovery. This...this could be the game changer you were looking for. The other must have sensed that you found something, or at least seen the look on your face, because they all expectantly look at you.

“Did you find something Fullmetal?” Vav asks, setting the file down on his lap.

You look up from your screen. “Possibly, but again, you’re probably not going to like it.”

X-Ray groans. “For god sakes woman, just tell us what you found.”

“Snappy.” you mutter. “Well, I was following a lead you all would have overlooked because it really didn’t seem all the relevant but..it turns out it’s pretty fucking relevant.” you set your laptop down on the ground, standing up. “The Ringmaster was the first to come up with the idea of controlling people to take over the world but he was going about it in a very elaborate way and that’s how Corpirate was able to beat him to it, in a sense. That as well as Corpirate had insider knowledge of the Ringmaster’s plan.” you look at them. “According to this source, the Corpirate had a secret location in which some of his machinery is, some of the major components to his overall machine. It seems like the Ringmaster plans to take the machinery and manipulate it to better control people. I’m not exactly sure how he’ll do it, but I’m guessing it’ll be something that’s much harder to break when compared to Corpirate’s control method.”

“So we find this source, get the location of the machinery and destroy it before the Ringmaster gets a hold of it.” Vav says. “Sounds easy enough.”

“So who’s this contact?” X-Ray asks.

“That’s the part you’re not going to like. The source...it’s the Mad King.”

Vav and X-Ray stare at you. “I’m sorry. Come again?”

“I know how you feel about him but we have to talk to him.” you tell them.

“Absolutely not.” Vav says.

“Not in a million years.” X-Ray agrees.

“He’s our only solid lead right now. Are you all really going to let this go just because you don’t think the guy?”

“He’s a villain Fullmetal.”

“Not only that, but he can reads people’s minds and control them. He can’t control Vav and I but we don’t know if he can control you and Mogar and I’d rather not test it.”

“But what if he’s changed?” you argue. “Maybe he’s willing to help us to help atone for his sins.”

“He’s a villain Fullmetal.” Vav repeats. “Villain’s don’t atone for their sins nor do they change.”

“But what if-”

“(Y/n),” X-ray says, making you slightly glare at him for using your actual name. “I highly doubt that he’s changed or that he’s going to willingly work with us out of the goodness of his heart. If he was to work with us, he’d make a deal that benefits him more than it does to help us.”

“Seriously?” you stare at them before looking at Mogar. “What do you think about all of this?”

Mogar is silent for a moment. “We will pursue this path if we have no other choice.”

“There is no other choice! All the other leads are shit and get us nowhere!”

“We will pursue this path if we do not have any other choice.” Mogar repeats.

“You all are unbelievable!” you growl, storming out of the apartment and take off down the street, your feet pounding on the pavement and the wind stings your eyes, making them tear up slightly. If they weren’t willing to help you then you would just have to take matters into your own hands.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please feel free to leave a comment with your thoughts, questions or suggestions. Thanks and enjoy.

Vav paces back and forth in the apartment, Mogar watching him as X-Ray ideally plays a video game. “Calm down Vav. I’m sure she’s fine.” X-Ray tells his friend.

“Then why hasn’t she come back yet?” Vav turns to look at him. “It’s been over a day and she hasn’t even called once.”

X-Ray finishes the level, setting the controller down on the table. “She was pretty mad with us and I can’t say that I exactly blame her but at the same time it’s not like we’re her parents or anything; she’s a big girl and she can take care of herself. I think she just need some time to cool off.”

“I’m just worried she’s going to do something stupid.” Vav continues his pacing.

Mogar looks at him. “Has she done something stupid in the past?”

“Sometimes, but that was when she was really mad.” Vav tells him.

“And she is really mad now?”

“No, I don’t think she’s really mad, just pissed.” Vav paces in front of Mogar.

The man pulls the British lad down into his lap. “You worry is unnecessary. She is strong.”

The British man slightly blushes. “That may be true but we’re still her friends, even is she might argue.”

“She will be fine.” Mogar tell him, wrapping his arms around the smaller lad’s waist.

X-Ray rolls his eyes at them, standing up and moving into the kitchen. “Get a room you two.” he pulls out a soda can, popping the tab and taking a sip.

Vav glances back. “X-Ray, are you jealous?”

X-Ray almost spits out the liquid. “Me? Jealous of you two? What would make you say something like that?”

“It’s just that Fullmetal is back and you two were really close and I thought that maybe you two would get back together.”

“I don’t think we’re getting back together any time soon. If you need me, I’ll be in my room. And no sex on the couch.” X-Ray calls as he makes his way down the hall and disappears into his room.

Vav and Mogar watch him leave. “Oh X-Ray,” Vav sighs. “You have it bad don’t you?”

Mogar looks at Vav. “What does he have bad?”

“He’s still head over heels in love with Fullmetal but he’ll admit it.” Mogar makes a sound of acknowledgement. “And I think Fullmetal is still in Love with X-Ray and she won’t admit it. They’re two idiots in love.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please feel free to leave a comment with your thoughts, questions or suggestions. Thanks and enjoy.

After storming out of the apartment you head back to your base, spending the next day trying to figure out a way of seeing the Mad King without alerting X-Ray and Vav of your plan. You find out that the Mad King is being held in a secure facility with some of the highest security features you’ve ever seen so breaking in was out of the question. One of the privileges of being a hero is that you get access to any record you want, and that includes the Mad King’s. You notice that every week he is seen by a psychiatrist and a little light bulb goes off. Scribbling down the psychiatrist’s address you throw a change of clothes into a bag, making sure to wear your hero outfit before grabbing the hover board Hilda made you. It was a side project that she was working on that she thought wouldn’t work until you can in one day and tried it out. There were a few problems and for the most part she worked them out. Hopping onto the skateboard looking device you make your way to the psychiatrist house, knocking on the door.

A few moments later and the door opened, revealing a man in his mid thirties dressed in a pair of khakis and a button down shirt. “Can I help you?” he asks.

“Yes. I got a report of a break in a few houses down and I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions.”

“Of course.” he opens the door wider. “Please come in.”

“Thank you.” You set your bag and board down by the door, following the man into the living room. You sit down on the couch. “So, did you see anyone acting suspiciously in the area recently Mr…”

“Mr. Hill. And no. I can’t say that I have.”

"I see. Do have any idea why someone might breaking into the house two houses down?"

"I'd assume it's because they thought they might be able to get something of value and be able to sell it for money." A high pitched squeal emanates from the kitchen. "Oh that must be the kettle." Mr. Hill moves into the kitchen. "Would you like a cup of tea?"

"That would be lovely thanks." You stand up and follow him. "Are your neighbors rich Mr. Hill?"

"I'm not exactly sure if you'd call them rich but yes, they have a good amount of money coming in." He removes the kettle from the stove, grabbing two cups from the cabinet.

"Are you worried that your house might get broken into as well?" You pull out a rag and small vial from your pocket, pouring the liquid from the vial onto the rag.

"I can't say that I am; I have good locks and a security system so I'd like to see someone break into my house."

"I see. Well Mr. Hill thank you for your time." You place the rag over his mouth and nose, holding on firmly while he struggled for a few seconds before falling unconscious. You remove the rag, gently laying him down on the floor before searching for his id. You find it and make a copy, replacing his photo with yours and changing your name. You grab your bag, changing into the suit you stuffed in there earlier and sling the bag over your shoulder, badge and folder in hand as you make your way to the prison where the Mad King was. You show your badge to the guard and he lets you in.

"Normally it's Dr. Hill that comes to visit." The guard tells you.

"Yes. Well he called me, saying that he came down with a bad case of food poisoning and asked if I could come in and continue with the sessions; he didn't want the patient to miss a session." You lean against the desk. "So is it true that the patient is dangerous?"

"Very much so ma'am." The guard stands and leads you down several hallways. "Its why we have so many cameras and such tight security; if he were to get out he could bring the city to its knees. Thankfully the cells he's in is made from a special glass that blocks his powers so he can't use them on people on the other side of it. And that's why it's important that you do not touch the glass or answer any of his questions; he's good at manipulating people even without his powers." He comes to a stop outside a thick metal door. "I'll be right out here if you need me."

You nod, glancing around and noting where the cameras were. "I read in Dr. Hill's notes that he has the cameras in the cell turned off."

"Yes I already turned them off because the doctor believed it made things more private and makes the patient feel more at easy. Another reason I'll be right here is you need anything." The guard unlocks the door, leading you inside. “Hey, it’s time for your weekly session.” he tells the Mad King before turning to look at you. “I’ll be outside.”

“Thank you.” you nod, watching the guard leave before taking in the room. It seems to be about twenty feet wide by thirty feet long, a large glass wall dividing the room in half. The half you are standing in is bare, no furniture or anything while the other half of the cell has a standard prison cot, a sink, a toilet and a metal door off to the right side of the glass wall, a small metal flap in the middle with a lock on it where they handed the Mad King his food. Lounging on the cot is the man himself, the Mad King dressed in a dark blue jumpsuit that all the inmates are required to wear. You take a few steps forward, your shoes clicking against the hard ground makes the man sit up and look at you.

“Well, isn’t this interesting.” he says, his voice deep and smooth. “Where is the good Dr. Hill?”

You stop a few feet away from the glass, a folder in hand and your bah slung over your shoulder. “He couldn’t make it. My name is Dr. Exavior and I’ll be filling in for Dr. Hill today.”

The Mad King cackles at your fake name. “Oh, I’m sure you are.” he stands up, moving closer to the glass. “If you really want to fool someone, come up with a convincing cover name.”

You shrug. “It was good enough to get this far.”

“So tell me, what are you really doing here?”

“I need your help.”

He raises a brow, a smile playing across his lips. “Oh?”

“Have you heard of Ivoc Bach, or known as the Ringmaster before?”

The Mad King’s face falls. “Yes I have. What about him?”

“He’s here in Achievement City and plans on taking over the world by controlling people.” you tell him.

“So it seems that he hasn’t given up on that plan.” the Mad King turns, taking a few steps away. “Though I don’t see what that has to do with this.”

“You worked with him for sometime before working with the Corpirate and it seems that the Ringmaster need some machinery the Corpirate made that is in a secret location, one that you have knowledge of.”

The Mad King turns around again. “I must say I’m quite impressed. You must be one of those vigilantes.” he steps closer to the glass. “If I were to help you I would require something in return.”

“I thought you’d say that.” you set your bag down on the ground, rummaging through it until you pull out a caller that looks similar to a dog collar: a woven band with small metal beads woven in giving it a studded collar look, and the clip has small boxes on either side  of it. “That’s why I’m willing to make a deal- you help us stop the Ringmaster and make sure he’s taken care and behind bars, I’ll let you out of this cell with one condition.” you motion to the collar in your hand. “You have to wear this, which will give you a mild shock if you get more than 75 feet away from me or if you do something I don’t like.”

“So I’ll be free as long as I wear that?” the Mad King points at the collar.

“Essentially but you will have to follow a few rules.”

The Mad King turns away, thinking for a few moments before turning to face you again. “Aren’t you worried that I’ll be able to control you once you release me?”

You look at him. “I’ve thought about that and I’ve come to the conclusion that similar to X-Ray and Vav, you won’t be able to control me.”

“You sure about that?”

“Pretty sure.”

“Do you want to test it before you go ahead with your plan?”

You look at him, knowing that he was challenging you and part of you was scared that your prediction is wrong but you can’t bring yourself to back down. “Fine, but no funny business got it?”

“Of course.” he waits until you put your hand on the glass, breaking the barrier just enough to allow him to use his powers on you. He closes his eyes, able to read some of your thoughts but is unable to control you. He opens his eyes after trying a few more times, looking at you. “It seems that your prediction is correct, though I still can read your thoughts.”

“I know.” you remove your hand from the glass. “So do we have a deal?”

“If you can get me out of here, I’ll wear that collar and help you however I can.”

“Deal.” you reach back into your bag, pulling out a lockpick set and you set about unlocking the door.

The Mad King watches you, looking you over and notices that you are wearing gloves. “That is an odd fashion choice.”

You glance up at him for a moment. “It’s a little cold outside.”

“But it’s the middle of summer.”

“It get’s cold at night.” you try to listen for the clicking of the tumblers.

“But it’s still daytime.” he says, slightly smirking at the fact that he was annoying you.

“Maybe I just feel like wearing them ok?” you huff.

The Mad King hums, watching you work. “It surprises me that a vigilante knows how to pick a lock.”

You let out an irritated sigh. “Not every hero starts out good ok? Now will you be quiet so I can work? I only have a few more minutes.”

He raises a brow. “Why’s that?”

You don’t immediately answer, feeling the tumblers move into place and with a few more movements there is an audile click and the door opens. You stand up, packing the kit back up. “It’s because I placed a small device at the guard’s station what will cause a temporary power shortage.” You toss him the collar, picking up your bag and looking through it.

The Mad King catches the collar, looking it over before placing it around his neck, connecting the clips together with an audible click. He moves his head around, trying to get used to the feeling, though it wasn’t all that bad actually. He looks at you, catching the clothes you throw at him, realizing it was his own.

“Get changed and make it quick.” You tell him, pulling out the rag and moving over towards the door. You wait, listening to the guard move around and when the lights flicker off you quickly open the door, placing the rag over the man’s mouth and nose, waiting until he fell unconscious before putting it away and laying him down on the ground. You turn around to see that the Mad King has changed into his clothes, his black suit jacket pulled over his white dress shirt, his red kilt stopping just above his knees where his socks starts and his black dress shoes click against the ground. You grab your bag from the ground, pulling out one more item before stuffing the jumpsuit and the folder inside. “You might want this as well.” you toss him his crown.

He catches his, smirking as he puts it on his head. “Oh yes. It’s good to be the king.”

“Let’s go.” you lead him out of the prison and get a good distance away before the cops show up to the prison. You two make your way through the city, the street lights staring to come on as the sky darkens. You take him to your base on the beach, tossing your bag down on your bed.

The Mad King looks around, slightly frowning. “This isn’t what I was expecting.”

“You want a nice fancy base than you buy one. It works so that’s all the matters.”

“Very well.” he walks around, inspecting all your gadgets. “Now what?”

You glance down at your watch. “It shouldn’t be long now, so we wait until they get here.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please feel free to leave a comment with your thoughts, questions or suggestions. Thanks and enjoy.

X-Ray lounges on his bed, flipping through the channels on the tv, not staying on one channel for too long before flipping to the next one. He figures he probably has shuffled through all the channels at least two times by now, but he can bring himself to watch a single show that was on or to do something else; he was worried about (y/n) but there was nothing he could do until you calmed down. He sighs, flipping to the local news and was about to change it when the headline makes his pause.

"We bring you some breaking news. Just an hour ago the police responded to a call from prison. The call came from the solitary confinement sector and it has been confirmed that prisoner 2092 has escaped. The inmate is none other than the notorious Mad King. Police are unsure how many, if any, accomplices were involved and they urge citizens to be alert and contact them immediately if you have any information.”

X-Ray runs out into the living room. “Vav! Turn on the tv!” he calls.

The British lad jumps slightly, breaking the kiss with Mogar to look up at the hispanic lad. “What?”

X-Ray rolls his eyes, walking over and turning the tv on, flicking over to the news. Thankfully they had tivo so he rewound to the start of the news section, showing it to Vav and Mogar. Vav stares at the screen. “She didn’t….she wouldn’t….”

“There’s only one way to find out.” X-Ray pulls on his boots and cape. “Are you coming?”

Vav nods, standing up to pull his boots on before following X-Ray and Mogar out of the apartment. They quickly make their way to the beach, storming into your base and find the Mad King sitting in a chair, sipping his cup of tea.

“X-Ray and Vav, what a surprise. We’ve been expecting you.” the Mad King says, setting his cup down.

“It’s over Mad King; you’re going straight back to jail.” Vav takes a step towards the man but you step in between them. Vav slightly frowns. “Fullmetal, move out of the way.”

“No.” you say.

“Fullmetal don’t be stupid.” X-Ray comes to stand next to Vav.

You turn to look at him. “I’m not the one being stupid here, you are. The Mad King have pertinent information that we need and he can be of great help.”

“Help? He’s not going to help us. He’s a villain!” Vav says. “I don’t care what you say, villains and people who do bad things can never change!”

“How do you know that?” you step forward into Vav’s personal space. “How do you know that he can’t change? You haven’t given him a chance to show you!”

“And he’s never going to get that chance because he’s just going to run away the first opportunity he gets and take over the city!”

“No he won’t.”

“And how do you know that?!”

“Because if you fucking listened to me I would have told you I was planning on making him wear the collar that shocks him if he gets more than 75 feet away from me along with the fact that he can’t control us heroes!” you practically growl. “But no. You let your feelings and past dealings get influence your decision more than it should have.”

“But he’s not a good person.” X-Ray says.

“Neither was I the first time we meet but I changed.” you turn to look at X-Ray. “So if I can go from breaking into homes, stealing things and being a bad person to someone who makes a difference and is a force for good, who’s to say he can’t do the same?” you motion to the Mad King.

X-Ray and Vav look at you before glancing back at the man who was watching the scene with a slight smirk. “You might not believe me, but I don’t want the Ringmaster taking over the city anymore than you do.” the Mad King tells them, standing up.

Vav opens his mouth to say something but Mogar grabs his shoulder. “Enough.” the bear man says. “What is done is done. Now we team up to stop the evil one.”

“I’m doing this no matter what, so you all can either help or stay out of the way.” You tell them.

X-Ray and Vav look at each other, seeing that they were outnumbered and there was no way they were going to sit back while their friends worked to defend the city. “Fine we’ll help.” X-Ray crosses his arms over his chest.

“But the minute this is over he’s going straight back to jail.” Vav says.

“Fine.” you move over to your desk, looking at the news. “But what are we going to do about this? It’ll be really hard to do anything with the police always chasing after us.”

“Don’t worry, I have a plan.” The Mad King says, making you all look at him.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait. I've been busy with classes, homework and exams and I've been working on all my fics, bouncing back and forth and working on them slowly.  
> If you have good team names for you and the guys please leave a comment- I would like to hear what you guy have come up with.  
> Here is a visual referance of your old and new suit. I used different makers on dolldivine.com http://sakurastar0660.deviantart.com/art/X-Ray-and-Vav-Character-Referance-567041616  
> As always please feel free to leave a comment with your thoughts, questions, or suggestions. Thanks and enjoy.

“This is a bad idea.” X-Ray says, pacing up and down the hall.

“If you have a better idea then please, tell me about it.” you look at X-Ray, who doesn’t say anything. “Exactly. Now stop your bitching and calm down before someone comes by and thinks that something’s up with how agitated you seem.” X-Ray grumbles but stops his pacing and stand next to you, waiting for the Mad King, Vav and Mogar to finish up.

Initially you thought the Mad King’s plan was a little farfetched, when he explained everything it did start to make some sense- when the Mad King was the head of Monarch Labs the people did abore him and were quite upset that their beloved king had been sent to solitary confinement so it wouldn’t be hard to win them back over with the story that the Mad King was reformed and a changed man. The only difficult part of the plan was the part where Vav has to make a speech, telling the citizens that the Mad King was indeed a changed man and that they would be working together to further improve the city. Sure you didn’t fully believe the Mad King has atoned for what he did but you have to believe that he can change and give him a chance to. And that’s where you and Vav, as well as X-Ray, differed on opinions- they didn’t believe he could or would change but they were willing to work with him to ensure the safety of the city.

X-Ray crosses his arms over his chest. “I don’t see why we have to be here.”

“It’s to show the citizens that we all are willing to work with the reformed Mad King, not just Vav.” you glance over at him.

“Yeah, well it’s still dumb. And can we really trust him to be alone with Vav?” he turns to look at you. “How do we know that he isn’t going to kill us all?”

“If he tries anything Mogar is with Vav so they’ll easily be able to overpower him. That and we all have comms so if I get the signal from Vav I can give him a mild shock, incapacitating him long enough to subdue him.”

“Right,” X-Ray rolls his eyes. “Like you’d actually do that.”

You look at him. “What does that mean?” you two don’t hear the other three make their way down the hall towards you. They stop as they hear the start of an argument.

X-Ray scoffs. “Of come on. It’s obvious you have some sort of crush on the Mad King.”

“Excuse me?” you slightly growl, pushing away from the wall to face him directly.

“That’s why you broke him out of jail right?”

“I only did that because you lot we’re even remotely considering helping me so I had to take matters into my own hands.”

“So breaking a psychopathic killer out of jail and breaking the law falls under that category?” X-Ray faces you, both of you unaware of the audience you have, Vav who is watching in slight disbelief, Mogar slightly indifferent and the Mad King slightly amused.

“I was just going to sit back and do nothing when we had a good lead.”

“So again, you best plan was to commit a crime in order to follow a lead?”

You scoff. “Why do you even care?”

“Because I care about you!” X-Ray exclaims, making you look at him in slight disbelief. “And when I say I care about you, I mean that...like I care about you as a friend...kinda of way…”

You shake you head, not sure how to reply to that but the Mad King interrupts. “If you two are done with your little squabble,” he says, moving over to you. “We have a speech to attend.”

“Let’s just get this over with.” X-Ray leads you all out to the stage.

Vav walks next to you. “Hey (y/n), are you ok?”

You look at him, knowing that he’s very concerned and serious if he’s addressing you by your real name. You nod. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

“Look, if you ever want to talk about-”

“I said I’m fine ok?” you say a bit more harshly than you intended.

Vav puts a hand on your shoulder. “I’m just saying that I’m here if you ever want to talk or something.”

You put your hand on his. “Thanks.”

You all take up your positions on the stage, looking out at the crowd of people gathered in front of the stage and it makes you grateful that Vav is the one who’s going to be making the speech. The mayor steps up to the podium, making a quick introduction before stepping back as the Mad King steps up.

“Thank you Mr. Mayor for that lovely introduction.” he turns his attention to the crowd. “Many of you may recall that several months ago I worked under the Corpirate as CEO of Monarch Labs, creating machines and tech that the Corpirate told me to make. At the time I didn’t fully understand what all of that was for and I learned the truth too late; I had been manipulated into creating a machine that only served the Corpirate’s interests and not the interests of the people. Before I could stop him the Corpirate put me under his spell and forced me to do his bidding. I am rather grateful that X-Ray and Vav were able to stop me before I did irreputable damage to the city or it’s lovely citizens.” The crowd awes. “The time I spent in solitary confinement has allowed me to accept that I did terrible things and that I wanted nothing more than to atone for them by helping the cities heroes protect the city and serve the people. I am thankful that they have allowed me this opportunity to prove that I am not the villain some believe I am.” The Mad King glances back at Vav.

The British lad steps forward, standing next to the Mad King. “My fellow heroes and myself are happy to give you this opportunity to prove yourself and we look forward to working with you to better the city.”

The crowd applauses as the Mad King and Vav shake hands. You follow the others back into the building and into one of the conference rooms.

"That almost sounded convincing." X-Ray says, plopping down into one of chairs.

"That is what we're going for." You tell him. "We need to support of the people as well as from the mayor and the police. Who knows maybe what the Mad King said will come true."

"I highly doubt that."

The Mad King looks over at X-Ray. "You don't think that I could be remorseful of what I've done and want to right the wrongs?"

X-Ray meets his gaze. "Not for one fucking second."

Vav steps in between the two men, breaking their eye contact. "Come on guys. We can't be caught fighting otherwise the speech would have been for nothing."

X-Ray rolls his eyes. "Yeah, because that would be such a shame." He says very sarcastically.

You sigh, glancing down at your phone. "Hey, this is great and all but Hilda wants us to come to her lab."

"What for?" Vav asks.

"I don't know but does it really matter?" You make for the door, the others following suit as you lead them out back where your vehicles are parked.

Mogar climbs onto the back of Vav’s bike, wrapping his arms around the British hero when he climbs on. "Not it." X-Ray says as he climbs onto his bike, starting it up and revving the engine.

You climb into your own bike, starting it up as the Mad King climbs on behind you. "When are you ever it?" You ask, taking off before X-Ray could even respond. The sudden acceleration jerks the Mad King forward and he instinctively wraps his arms around you. You wave your way in and out of cars, making your way through the city towards Monarch Labs. You easy to a stop at a red light, placing your right foot on the pavement and leaning on it. The Mad King relaxes his hold a little, sitting back.

"So do you really think that?" He asks.

You glance back at him. "Think what?"

"That I could change."

You turn your attention back to the light, taking off as it turns green. "I believe you could if you really wanted to."

"Even if I were to go on a murderous rampage and kill almost everyone on the city?"

You slightly frown at the question. "Even then. Though you would probably have to undergo some kind of therapy to make sure you would relapse or anything."

The Mad King hums. "And why do you believe this?"

"I believe because people do things they regret and should be allowed a second chance if they are willing to work for it and want to really truly change." You pull up in front of the lab, killing the engine. The Mad King climbs off and you do the same, glancing around to see if the others had kept up. After several minutes you sigh, leaning against your bike. “They better have not gotten lost or anything.”

The Mad King glances over at you. “They have been here many times. What makes you think they got lost?”

You shrug. “It happens.” you sigh once more, waving your hand in a small circle and creating a little twister of air. The Mad King watches you, gently tugging on the collar. You look over your shoulder as the others pull up into the lot next to you. “Finally.” you wave your hand, sending the twister off before it dissipates. “Took you all long enough.”

“Sorry but some of us actually obey traffic laws.” X-Ray shoots Vav a look, parking his bike.

“Just because we’re heroes doesn’t mean that we are above the law.” Vav argues, him and Mogar following the others inside.

“We can ignore certain laws at certain times.” X-Ray says.

“Some of your laws only hinder us.” Mogar adds. “They do not make sense.”

“Generally traffic laws are good, that way people are stupid fucking morons causing accidents all the time.” You say, climbing into the elevator as you all make your way up to the top floors.

“They are still confusing.”

“Good thing you have us.” you pat Mogar’s shoulder. You step out of the elevator and into the lab, ducking as a wrench flies at you. “Jesus Hilda.”

“You all are a bunch of idiots!” Hilda yells. “What the fuck are you thinking breaking him out of jail?!” she points at the Mad King.

“To be fair it was only Fullmetal who broke me out.” The Mad King says.

You slightly glare at him. “Throw me under the bus why don’t you.”

“It’s only temporary Miss Hilda.” Vav says, taking a step forward. “Once we have stopped the Ringmaster he’s heading straight back to jail.”

Hilda huffs. “Whatever. I just don’t want him touching any of my stuff. Speaking of which, (y/n) I have a new suit for you.”

You frown, glancing down your suit. “What’s wrong with this one?”

“If you’re going to be a hero, you need to look the part.”

You frown more. You didn’t see anything wrong with your current suit- a white, long sleeve crop top, gold shoulder covers, gold arm bands, white pants with a belt that has side pouches, a calf pouch that holds a few knives and your favorite pair of grey boots. This has been your look for as long as you’ve been a hero vigilante. “Do I really have to have a new suit?” 

Hilda looks at you. “Yes. Now go change.” she points at the bathroom. You huff but head over to it anyways, closing the door behind you. “I also have a few new things for your guys. And this for you.” Hilda shoves a suit at the Mad King.

He raises a brow. “Why do I need one of these?”

“It’ll be much better for fighting bad guys and jumping off roofs in than your…” she eyes his kilt. “Current outfit.”

The Mad King gives her a look. "I can move just fine in my kilt."

"Right." Hilda says.

"Getting new suit is good idea." Mogar says. "Old one represents old self. New suit is new self. Want people to believe you changed no?"

"He does have a good point." X-Ray agrees.

"Hmm," the Mad King mulls it over. "Very well but the crown stays."

"Fine." X-Ray shrugs.

The Mad King walks over to the couch, setting the clothes down on it before beginning to undress.

"You could wait for the bathroom." Hilda says but the Mad King ignores her, slipping into the spandex pants and top. "No? Ok." She glances over to the bathroom, watching as the door opens and you step out on your new suit. "Glad to see it fits."

You tug on the suit. "Did you really have to make the top this low cut?" You ask. Even though you like the suit as a whole, you weren't all that crazy about the v-neck that shows off a good amount of top boob. The v-cut bottom of the crop top is an interesting choice and you're thankful that it's long sleeved. The pants fit snuggly just the way you like, though you don't see the point or purpose in having openings on the side of your thighs. You think Hilda went a little overboard with the metal fabric that accents the black suit and makes up a good portion of it. You can appreciate the new boots since your old ones were starting to wear out but they are a bit looser than your old ones as well. And then there was the cape... "And do I really need a cape?"

Hilda walks over to you, looking the suit over. "In an occupation dominated by men you need to use every asset you have to your advantage."

You quirk a brow up. "Since when have my breasts been an advantage?"

"Since forever. Just ask X-Ray."

You shake your head, glancing over at the men to notice them staring. "What?"

"Oh. Nothing." Vav says, scratching the back of his head. "It's just....um...."

"You actually look like a hero." X-Ray finishes. "And a sexy, badass one at that."

You slightly flush, glancing down at Hilda who attaches two pouches to each of your legs as well as a utility belt around your waist. "Now these pouches are similar to the ones in X-Ray and Vav’s pants so you can store just about anything in them." Hilda glances over to the Mad King. "Same with you."

"How thoughtful." He mused, folding up his old clothes before pulling on the boots Hilda gave him. "And I don't suppose that I'll have to wear a cape as well."

"I do have one if you want it."

"Why not." He shrugs as Hilda walks over to the closet. "Embrace the whole hero thing right?"

"I guess." Hilda hands him the black cape and he clips it to his top.

Vav pulls his phone out of his pocket when it rings. “X-Ray and Vav superhero hotline...Uh huh...Yup got it.” Vav puts the phone back into his pocket. “There is a robbery in progress over on 5th and Langsley. Let’s roll Team Lads.”

“Yeah I don’t think that’s going to work for us.” You tell Vav as you all leave the lab.

“Why not? It’s worked in the past.”

“It worked for you, X-Ray and Mogar but I’m a little older than you all and I’m pretty sure his majesty over there is older than all of us.” you point out.

“I prefer to think of myself as a gentleman, thank you very much.” The Mad King says.

“Alright then. How about Team Hero?” Vav suggests as you all mount your bikes.

“No.” you say, staring up the engine as the Mad King climbs on behind you.

“How about Team Justice?”

“No.”

“How about-”

“How about you don’t come up the team name yeah?” X-Ray interjects, revving his own engine.

Vav pouts. “Fine, you bloody kill joy.” he leads you all over to the scene of the crime, finding the police have blocked the entrance of the bank with their squad cars.

You all make your way over to the police chief to be debriefed. The chief tells you that there are three robbers inside and they are holding the people inside hostage. “The current deal that they have made is that they will release all the hostages if we let them go with the money but we-”

“You don’t comply with terrorist or criminals, we know.” X-Ray interrupts, looking down at the blueprints of the bank. “That’s why we’re here.”

Vav nods. “It looks like there are air vents that lead into the lobby on either side that X-Ray and I could fit in. We could make our way through them to provide aerial backup for Fullmetal, Mogar and the Mad King, who will enter through the front and draw their attention. Fullmetal can provide cover while Mogar and the King work on disarming and freeing the hostages.”

“That’s not a bad plan.” You say.

“There is one problem.” Mogar says.

“And what’s that?” Vav looks at him. Mogar points at the bank entrance. You all turn to see the Mad King saunter into the bank, unarmed without backup. “What is he doing?!”

“That asshole.” You move towards the entrance but as quick as the King enters he’s exiting the bank with the robbers following after him, their hands above their heads and they turn themselves in.

You frown slightly as he makes his way back over to you all. “And that’s how it’s done children.” He says, slightly smirking.

Vav stares. “Wot? How did you?”

“Idiot, he can control people remember?” X-Ray says.

“Now, unless we have anything else to do, I’m hungry.” The Mad King heads towards the bikes. “I’m feeling like having some Chinese.”

Vav and X-Ray stare as Mogar huffs in agreement, following after the man. “Maybe this won’t be as bad as we thought.” Vav says.

“I’m still doubtful.” X-Ray moves over to his bike.

“Only time will tell.” You say, climbing on and starting it once again. You just hope that things continue being this good and that they don’t backfire and blow up in your face.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait- finals and moving back home for the holidays.  
> As always, feel free to leave a comment with your thoughts, questions or suggestions. Thanks and enjoy.

You duck behind a wall as bullets fly by you. “Where the hell are you X-Ray?!” You growl into the comms. 

“I’m a little busy at the moment!” X-Ray replies, dodging punches left and right before sending one of the guys flying across the room with an optical blast.

You sigh, stepping out when you don’t hear any more firing. The guys who were shooting at you hop out a window. “Hey!” you run over to the window, getting there to watch them drive off, rounding a corner and disappearing. “Shit!” You make your way over to X-Ray, sending the other assailant into a wall with a burst of wind.

“Thanks.” X-Ray says.

You glare at him, making your way out of the building to meet the others outside. “Anything?” you ask them.

“They got away before I could put a tracker in the car.” Vav reports.

“Great. What about the guys? Can we get intel from them?”

“Sure, if they weren’t hired hands.” the Mad King says. “They’re about as useful as a sack of potatoes.”

“So we got nothing?” You throw your hands up. “That’s fucking fantastic!”

X-Ray frowns. “Look, we did the best we could.”

You turn to look at him. “Oh really? I told you to stay on my six X-Ray. Do you even know what that means?!” you growl.

“Of course I know what that means!” X-Ray glares at you. “The only reason I wasn’t right behind you is because I was keeping the bad guys off your ass!”

“And you couldn’t even do that without assistance!”

“Oh I’m sorry I’m not you, little miss I can do everything myself!”

“What?! I never said that!”

“Well you don’t have to!” X-Ray steps forward, standing in front of you. “And news flash, you came to us because you needed help so you don’t get the right to chew us out for needing assistance!” 

“Enough!” you and X-Ray turn to look at the Mad King, who looks rather pissed off. “Your constant fighting and bickering has become rather annoying. Not only does it accomplish nothing but it makes it that much harder for all us to work together as a united unit. Since this clearly has to do with the fact that you two have a history then maybe you two need to sit down and work things out and not get into a yelling match about the most pointless things.”

“He’s right guys.” Vav steps in between you and X-Ray. “We used to work so well together before, why does now have to be any different? Sure, maybe feeling were hurt when you left Fullmetal but we need to get over them and move on if we want to stand any chance at finding out where the Ringmaster is hiding.”

“I’m not the one who has a problem.” You reply, crossing your arms over your chest.

“I don’t have a problem either.” X-Ray huffs.

Vav and the Mad King sigh. “You two are hopeless.” Vav says, glancing down as his phone goes off. “Mogar and Hilda have something.”

You all make your way back to the lab, the tension between you and X-Ray is still very high and noticeable. Mogar eyes you two. “What is wrong with you?”

“Nothing.” you huff. “You said you have something?”

Mogar opens his mouth to press you more but Vav puts a hand on his shoulder, shaking his head. “Indeed we do.” Mogar says instead.

“More like I have something.” Hilda pauses in her typing, glancing up from her computer screen. “I’ve been able to pull security footage from the warehouse and have been able to identify some of the guys you fought.” she puts up several profiles up on the larger tv screen. “Most, if not all of them, are mercenaries for hire so they’re not a direct link to the Ringmaster but I have been able to access their bank accounts and look at previous transactions, noting that a large amount of money has been transferred to each of their accounts within the last week, so odds are the Ringmaster just hired these guys.”

“Unless we can back trace the money then this isn’t helpful.” You look at Hilda.

“I did but the account the money was transferred from is a dummy account.”

“Do you know which bank the account is with?” the Mad King asks. 

“Um yeah,” Hilda clicks a few things. “The dummy account is through United National.”

“Excellent.” the Mad King smiles, pulling out his phone.

“Um, what are you doing?” Vav asks.

“I know some people who work for United National so I’m going to call in some favors and have them send all the info on the account they have as well as all teller footage they have.” the blond explains, putting the phone up to his ear.

Hilda rolls her eyes. “Please, if I couldn’t get access to that footage I high doubt you can.”

The Mad King keep the conversation short, hanging up after a few minutes and looks at Hilda. “All done. Check your email.”

Hilda frowns. “No way.” she quickly opens up her email to find that all the info as well as the footage has been sent to her. “Mother-”

“I think the term you’re looking for is ‘thank you’.” The Mad King says.

Hilda grumbles. “Yeah yeah. I’m gonna get to work on this while you all go do whatever it is you all do.”

“Maybe we all can work out the issues we have.” Vav suggests, making for the door.

“We don’t have an issues.” X-Ray says.

“Speak for yourself.” You follow after Vav with Mogar.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” X-Ray turns to look at you.

“I’m saying at you have some issues to work out.”

“Oh I have issues?” X-Ray scoffs, staring at you as he points at himself.

“X-Ray,” Vav warns.

“Yeah you do. No wonder your father left you- he didn’t want to have to deal with your shit and watch his son grow up into a coward who doesn’t amount to anything.” You stare X-Ray down.

“So what if my dad left? At least he’s still alive, unlike your parents.” X-Ray steps closer to you, ignoring Vav’s warning of “X-Ray,”. “Well at least I didn’t kill them though it was probably easy, considering you didn’t have much control over your powers. Was it easy to make it look like an accident? I bet it was considering-”

X-Ray’s head snaps to the side as you slap him across his face, your eyes tearing up. “You have no idea what the hell you are talking about.” With that you turn on your heels and take off running.

“Fullmetal!” Vav calls after you, moving to give chase when the Mad King stops him. “What are you doing?”

“You stay with X-Ray while I talk to her.” The Mad King holds up his hand as Vav tries to argue. “Remember that I’m on a leash.” He motions to the collar before following off after you.

Vav sighs, turning to look at X-Ray who is sitting down on the curb of the sidewalk. The Brit glances over at Mogar before sitting down next to his friend. “You really shouldn’t have said that.”

X-Ray huffs, pulling his knees up to his chest. “Well she shouldn’t have said those things about my dad.”

“Maybe but that’s not really the point. Ray, we’re trying to work things out, not make them worse.” Vav turns to properly face him. “What even happened between you two? One day everything was fine and then the next it seemed like you two hated each other, even before she left.”

“I don’t know Gavin.” Ray slips his glasses off, rubbing his eyes. “One day everything was great, we went to bed happy and then she got a call in the morning and after that she wasn’t the same. I tried asking what was wrong but that just seemed to make everything worse so I left her alone to give her some space you know? I guess she needed a lot of space.”

“She has been deeply hurt.” Mogar says, sitting down on Ray’s other side. “The passing of her parent’s have left a deep wound that has not healed.”

“Yeah but that was over ten years ago.” Ray points out.

“True, but sometimes we need more than just the passing of time for some wounds to heal.” Gavin says. “Most of the time we need to come to terms with what happened and accept it before we can move on. I would guess that (y/n) has yet to do either of those things and so she is unable to move on and form new, lasting relationships that have any meaning. She may need someone to help her through it; someone who understands what it’s like to lose someone we love.”

Ray looks at Gavin. “How can I help her if she refuses to talk to me?”

Gavin puts a hand on his shoulder. “Sometimes just being a shoulder to cry on is more helpful than anything. Having someone she can talk to and confide in is essential.”

Ray sighs, putting his glasses back on. “You know, sometimes I hate it when you’re right Vav.”

By the time the Mad King catches up to you you have climbed up to the roof of an abandoned office building. As he makes his way over to you you wipe away the tears. “What do you want?”

“I’m here to make sure you don’t do anything stupid and also to make sure I don’t get out of range.” he comes to sit next to you.

“Who knew the Mad King had a heart?”

“Of course I have a heart- I am a living human and it is quite essential.”

“I’m not in the mood for your kind of humor right now.” You glance over at him, turning away as new tears start to roll down your cheeks.

The Mad King pulls out a handkerchief and hands it to you. “Here,”

“Thanks.” you take it, wiping your eyes. “I’m not surprised you have one.” you noticed a name embroidered on it. “Who’s James? Did you knick this off some guy you killed or something?”

“No, I’m James.” you look at him, a bit surprised. “James Ryan Haywood. That’s man I used to be before the Mad King took over.”

“No.”

He turns to look at you, eyebrow arched up. “No?”

“You’re still James Ryan Haywood.” you turn to meet his look. “He’s still in there, somewhere. No matter how much you don’t want to admit it.”

He hums ins consideration. “Maybe but I haven’t been Ryan in a long time. Not since I left the Gents.”

You slightly laugh. “Yeah. Right.”

Ryan frowns, looking back at you. “What?”

“Oh  _ sure _ you were a Gent. And I guess you also grew up somewhere in Georgia and worked as a computer IT guy before you were recruited.”

“I was.”

You blink, staring at him. “Are you serious?”

“Born in Georgia on December 6, my parents raised me and my two other brothers without judgement, seeing as me and my oldest brother have superpowers- his telekinesis though it’s not as strong as Jack’s. When I turned 18 and graduated high school, I left to go study computer science in Atlanta, graduating college at 22 before getting a job at a local business running tech support. I worked there until one day this guy named Geoff came up to me and offered me a job, though it really wasn’t a job so to speak. He wanted me to join him and Jack to form a small group of vigilantes. I told him that I was just an IT guy and as I turned to leave he asked me if I had read his mind. Of course that made me stop and realize that I did without meaning to and then he offered to help me hone in on my skill, refine them and be able to control them more. After that I considered his offer, giving him two days to convince me and after that that rest if sort of history- we got together, formed the Gents and everything was good until the Corpirate showed up.”

“What happened?”

“He kicked our asses that’s what happened. His arrival seemed to throw Geoff off his game and I think that they might be related but I’m not sure. When the Corpirate didn’t leave, we tried to get rid of him but without Geoff’s help Jack and I didn’t stand a chance.” He pulls off his crown, scrubbing a hand through his hair. “And then  _ it _ happened- another villain decided that they would try to take over the city while we were weakened, Jack and I quickly finding his hideout and we were going to make short work of this guy so we could get back to looking for the Corpirate.” 

_ “We have you surrounded!” Ryan stops a few feet away from the villain, Fanto. “Surrender and we’ll let you live.” Jack stands several feet to Ryan’s right, blocking the exit. _

_ “I don’t think so.” Fanto smirks as his companion sneaks up behind and grabs Ryan from behind, turning his attention to Jack. _

_ Ryan growls, struggling to break free from the other’s hold. He watches Jack try to fight off Fanto but Jack was not every skilled with hand-to-hand combat, not like Geoff and Ryan. Ryan continues to struggle, kicking and trying to headbutt the other but he is stronger than Ryan and he holds fast. “Release me!” he growls, watching as Jack back up dangerously close to edge of the building. “Jack watch your step!” _

_ Jack, taking a moment to glance behind him to see how close he was, gives Fanto all that he need to land a solid punch to his head, knocking Jack to the ground. Dazed, Jack can hear Ryan yelling and struggling but he’s fighting a battle he can’t win. Fanto pulls out his gun. “I’m disappointed you didn’t put up a better fight.” He aims the gun at Jack’s chest and pulls the trigger. _

_ “NO!” Ryan screams, watching almost in slow motion as the bullet leaves the gun and embeds itself into Jack’s chest, watching the older man’s face contort with pain before he’s kicked off the building. “You bastard!” With a surge of rage Ryan fling the companion over him and away, rushing at Fanto.  _

_ The villain takes several shots at Ryan but he misses and is thrown across the roof, landing with a heavy thud. Ryan is on Fanto in an instant, wailing on him with no holds back. “You killed him!” he cries, hardly noticing that the other man was no longer conscious. “You will pay for what you did!”  _

_ Ryan lands several more punches before the companion pulls him off but Ryan turns on him, directing his attack at him instead of the unconscious, possibly dead man, lying on the roof. The companion is better at deflecting his punches but after several minutes of the constant barrage of punches Ryan breaks through the companion’s defense and knocks him to the ground as well, the man knocked unconscious. Ryan stands above the two men, panting heavily with bloodied fists. For the first time in his life, Ryan didn’t feel any remorse or guilt over hurting another human being; it did, however, give him some sort of satisfaction and he felt this need for more. As he turned to leave he notices Geoff standing in the doorway, a look of utter disappointment on his face. “Geoff?” Ryan asks. _

_ “I’m disappointed Ryan. I thought you were a better man than this.” _

_ “They killed Jack.” _

_ “That’s no excuse.” _

_ “Excuse?” Ryan is in shock; he couldn’t believe his ears. “You consider your friends death an excuse?” Ryan can feel his anger bubble up again. “You were probably standing there the whole time so you could have saved him!” Ryan rushes at Geoff but the other man was ready for him. _

_ Geoff grabs Ryan’s fists in his hands, holding the man at arm’s length. “I only just showed up!” _

_ “Bullshit!” Ryan hisses. “You probably didn’t care that they killed Jack and I bet you were going to let them kill me as well!” He throws Geoff several feet away.  _

_ “No I wasn’t!” _

_ “How can I even trust you anymore?!” Ryan, to his surprise, lands a punch and continues to wail on Geoff, driving him backwards. “What were we to you anyways huh?! We were just pawns for you to use and throw away when you didn’t need us any more?!”  _

_ “No! That’s not-” Geoff’s back foot slips off the edge and he feels himself fall backwards but grabs the ledge, holding on. “Ryan help me!” _

_ Ryan stares down at Geoff, torn between helping his friend back up or letting him fall. The sound of footsteps across the roof cause Ryan to turn his head, resulting in him holding his fists up. _

_ “Ye have a difficult choice there matey.” The Corpirate says, coming to stand a few feet in front of Ryan. “Are ye going to help ye mate up, or are ye going to let him go to Davey Jone’s locker?” _

_ “Why do you want to know?” Ryan asks. _

_ “Because I want to know what kind of man ye are.” _

_ Ryan blinks. “What kind of man I am?” Ryan glances down at Geoff, watching the other struggle to keep his grip. _

_ “Would it really be so bad if ye let him go? He did let ye other mate die.” Corpirate says, moving closer to Ryan. _

_ “He did.” _

_ “And he was going to let you die as well.” _

_ “Well, yeah I guess.” _

_ “And if ye do save him, what’s to keep him from doing that to ye again?” _

_ “Nothing I guess.” _

_ “So would it really be that bad to let ye matey go?” Corpirate asks, standing next to Ryan. _

_ “I guess not.” _

_ “Don’t listen to him Ryan!” Geoff begs. “I’m your friend!” _

_ Ryan frowns. “Some friend you are. See you in hell.” Ryan stomps on Geoff’s fingers, making the other man cry out before letting go and falling to his death. Ryan steps away from the edge, a bit shocked that he actually killed his friend. No, not his friend. Friends don’t let other friends suffer. Ryan can feel part of himself freaking out but slowly that part is quited by another part, the part that enjoyed beating the shit out of the villains. _

_ “Ye don’t need him.” Corpirate rest his hand on Ryan’s shoulder. “But I need ye. I have a plan to rule the world and ye could rule it with me. What do ye say?” _

_ Ryan glances around, noticing a crown sitting on top of a cabinet. “I say,” Ryan holds his hand up and the crown flies to him. He catches it and sits it atop his head. “You can call me the Mad King from now on.” _

“After that I never looked back and I was no longer James Ryan Haywood, just the Mad King.”

“Would you want to be Ryan again?” you ask.

“If you asked me that two weeks ago I would have said no and then probably tried to kill you. Now, I’m not so sure.” Ryan rubs the crown on his hand.

You nod, looking out at the city. “I was 12 when I first discovered I had powers. My parents weren’t that surprised, seeing as my uncle and my mom’s dad had powers so it was in our genes. They were really patient with me, telling me that there wasn’t a big rush in me learning everything about my powers and being able to control them. ‘Take your time sweetie. You don’t have to learn everything overnight.’ That’s what my mom would always tell me and whenever I got mad because I couldn’t do what I wanted with my powers my dad would take me out for a walk to our favorite spot and tell me to not to fuss. ‘It’s just like life- you don’t always understand everything right away and it takes a while before you fully understand them and even longer before you master them. Just give it time darling; everything happens at it’s own time and for a reason.’ By the time I turned 13 I had a lot more control over my powers but they still went on the frits sometimes. That’s what happened that night; mom and dad were inside the cabin preparing dinner while I was outside collecting firewood. I can’t exactly remember what happened, it’s all a bit fuzzy but I remember picking up several logs from the stack outside, making my way back towards the door, something large and black rushed past me and that’s where it’s the most fuzzy. Next thing I remember clearly is waking up on the ground to find the cabin on fire with mom and dad trapped inside. I see their lips moving, trying to tell me something but I can’t exactly make out what before the roof collapses killing them.” you pull your knees up to your chest. “It took the fire department twenty minutes after that to arrive and by the time they got there the fire had spread to the surrounding forest, creating a small forest fire. They put it out quickly and I remember several of fire fighters telling me how lucky I was to not be injured. Lucky,” you scoff. “I didn’t feel lucky because my parents were dead and I could have easily been inside with them.”

“It seems like that it wasn’t your fault that the fire started.” Ryan says. “There are many things that could have caused it like a stray ember or a candle being knocked over-”

“Or a 13 year old child who can’t control her powers.” you say.

Ryan looks at you. “If you want to continue to think that then fine but you have to accept that it happened, your parents are dead and move on. Call me cruel or heartless but you won’t be able to grow and reach your full potential until you do that.” he stands up, placing his crown back on top of his head. “And you need to stop taking your anger out on those closest to you, especially X-Ray, considering he’s only trying to help.”

You scoff. “X-Ray? Trying to help? Yeah right.”

“In his weird, slightly messed up way yeah. You both need to grow up but at least he has friends to help him. Now if you need me I’ll be downstairs.” Ryan makes his way off the roof, leaving you all alone.

You lay down on the roof, staring up at the slowly darkening sky. Ryan did have a point- X-Ray and Vav were really the only friends you had and you could sort of see how X-Ray was trying to help but the way he was going about it wasn’t helping. You let out a sigh; maybe trying to talk to X-Ray like an adult and try to work things out wasn’t such a bad idea, though it was one to save until the morning, when you both have had plenty of sleep and time to think things over.


	8. Chapter 8

This is not another chapter because I've kinda put this one on the backburner for so long that I want to get back into it, but I sort forgot where I was going to go with this. So, suggestions would be really helpful and I will try to update this asap. Thank you. Love you all.


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